The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1887-08-26
eeHeHLlN HELD:

aster, and He Is Placed In Jail-The
Railroad OfIiczals Acknowledgements of
the State Inquiry-Another Victim.
CHATswoRTH, III, Aug. 19.-The coroner's
jury agreed on a verdict yesterday morning,
which recommends that Timothy Coughlin,
section foreman, be held for examination by
the grand jury at Pontiac, Ill, which meets
next month The railroad company is ean-
sflred for not having the track patf0lled all
evening Eoughlin was taken to Pontiac
yesterday by Constable Sanford, where he
win be held for trial Goughlin has always
been considered careful section boss. Sep
arate verdicts were made out for each per-
son by the jury
s6n1e bf the jurors were for placing the
blaine III its entirety upon Coughlin and
commencing the railroad for its efforts to
insure the safety of the train, while others
were just as firmly of the opinion that the
responsible officers of the road should be
iinsparingly c0dde1dned for running such a
heavy train in single section For time
it looked as though it would be impossible
for the two extremes to meet - However
a common ground was found upon which
all couldstand, and at ten o'clock to the
minute Coroner Long was agreeably sur
prised by the receipt of summons to
attend and receiye,the verdict
Coroner Longs list contains seventy-eight
names. The man thought to be A. Martin,
Of Bloomington, was identified by his friends
as IL H. Cassell, of Washington, til. The
body supposed to be that of n A Moore, of
Jacksonville, turned out to be j. N. Vokes.
OF Moline. Coroner Long adds Mrs. Meals
eighteen-I 1Unth'Szold babe to the company's
list Separate verdioes wefe made out for
each person. Mrs DR.. Ducketts is the first
name on the list The following is the YER
dict of the coroner's jury on her death:
. State cf Illinois, Livingston County, S.: In
the matter Of the inquisition on the body Of
Mrs, DR.. Duckett Of Forest, ILL.,, deceased, held
at Chatsworth on the 18th tay of August & D.
1887: We, the undersigned jurors, sworn to
inquire into the cause OF the death of Mrs..
DR.. Ducketr, late of Forest H., on, oath
do find that she came to her death by injuries
received in the wrecking of the Niagara Falls
excursion train on the Toledo, Peoria & West
ern railway, on which she was passenger, at d
bridge two and one-half miles east of Chats
worth about twelve o clock midnight Wednes-
day, August 10, 1887.
I'VE find that the wrecking OF the said train,
which totally demolished eight coaches, one
baggage-car and one engine, and eitner killed
or wounded most of the occupants of said
coaches was caused by said bridge having been
burned out before the train struck 1t. We
think from the evidence that the bridge was
fired from fires left burning, which
had been set as late as five o'clock that after.
noon by the section men, as close as sixteen
feet on both the east and west sides of the
bridge. We further find that the foreman of
section seven, Timothy Coughlin, disobeyed
positive orders from his superior to examine
the track and bridges on his section the last
thing on Wednesday, and we find that he did
notgo over the west two and one-half miles at
all on Wednesday, and that the said foreman,
Coughlin, was guilty of gross ana criminal care.
lessness in leaving fires burning along the
track in such a dry season and with such a
strong wind blowing.
We recommend that he be held for exani'
nation by the grand jury; and, further it is the
opinion of the jury that the leaving of the track
without being patrolled for six hours before the
passage of the excursion and the setting OF
fires by the section men on such dry and
windy day as the 10th of August, 1887, were acts
which deserve severe criticism.
Nv. w. SEARS, Foreman.
ZIP. L. Cook.
II. "DAyID e. SHAW,
I'll. P. TURNER.
81. R. BIGHAM.
FRANK OSBORNE"
1t was but very few minutes before the
nature of the finding was known throughout
the village, and notwithstanding the fact
that Timothy Coughlin is known and re-
spected by every living soul within a radius
of several miles, there was general con-
sensus Of opinion that in the face of the evil
dence no other verdict was possible. A
warrant for Coughlin's arrest was made out
by Coroner Long and intrusted to Dep.
uty Sheriff Sanford. He found his man
at work on the track about a mile this side
of the locality of the wreck and brought
him to the city. He was terribly agitated
despite his efforts to maintain his self-con.
troll, and in trembling accents he again and
again assured the officer that he faithfully
performed his duty and did all that man
could do toward having tbs track in
proper condition on the evening pre-
ceding the accident ~
PEORIA, Ill, Aug. 19.-Elton Walters. OF
Cottage City, N. Y, one of the injured In the
Chatsworth disaster, and who was thought
to have sufficiently recovered to justify his
removal to Fairbury, died there at one
o'clock yesterday morning. .z
PEORIA, ILL.,, Aug. 19-Before the State
Railroad Commission, investigating the
ChatswOrth disaster, yesterday David G.
Sutherland, engineer of the front engine
testified that he saw the fire 800 feet ahead
bet thought it was at the side Of the track;
doubted If the headlight of the engine on
the bridge could be seen at Chatsworth;
have been with the road four years; pulled
out but one other passenger train; that was
three years ago. McClinton was put in the
h ~.
There was ample breakage for the
train, but don't know how many cars the
brakes would operate; can stop trains OF
fifteen cars with air-brakes..as quick as one
car; consider momentum of long train over
come by additional number of brakes The
fire seemed to be On the south side of the
track. The fireman yelled: For Gods sake,
jump" Witness started to do SO, but recov-
cred and shut off steam; steam was shut
off when the engine struck the bridge; then
opened out full for the purpose of clearing
the bridge if possible. His engine sunk on
the bridge, but was forced over by its own
power and the force behind He gave no
signal for brakes to McClintock Did not
leave the throttle open long enough to in
crease the speed of the train. The fire did
not look like a burning bridge
Charles Flynn, detective, who was on the
relief train, testified that he saw two notori-
Gus characters at Chatsworth and saw a
lady who claimed to have been robbed, but
thinks there was no systematic robbery.
The deposition of Engineer McClintock's
widow was read, in which she says her hus-
band did not like to go out with another
man ahead of him. She thinks the accident
would not have occurred had her husband
been in. the lead, though he did not object
to the other engineer.
The commission will meet at Chatsworth
Tuesday.
Heard of Jobkins' attempt at
suicide?" "Jobkins, the fat man?"
"Yes. He threw himself from Cam
den ferryboat last Saturday" Poor
fellow! his troubles are at an end now" "
mot at all He was too fat to sink
and now he daresn't go out of the
house for fear of the boys who want to